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For more information: Melissa Hoffman mhoffman@mssny.org (518) 465-8085
Updated Independent Medical Examiner List
Please be advised that effective November 29, 2018, editing will be implemented on prescriptions for topical compounded drug products. See attachment for details.
New Online Tool Displays Cost Differences for Certain Surgical ProceduresProcedure Price Lookup will help patients with Medicare consider potential cost differences when choosing among safe and clinically appropriate settings
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new online tool that allows consumers to compare Medicare payments and copayments for certain procedures that are performed in both hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers. The Procedure Price Lookup tool displays national averages for the amount Medicare pays the hospital or ambulatory surgical center and the national average copayment amount a beneficiary with no Medicare supplemental insurance would pay the provider.
“Price transparency in health care is a priority for the Trump Administration. Working with their clinicians, the Procedure Price Lookup will help patients with Medicare consider potential cost differences when choosing where to have a medical procedure that best meets their needs,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
The Procedure Price Lookup tool is launching as required by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act. Medicare’s statutes require that CMS maintain separate payment systems for different types of healthcare providers, meaning both CMS and patients may pay different amounts for the same service, depending on the site of care.
“The different payment rates are a prime example of Medicare’s misaligned financial incentives, under which providers can make more money if they see patients at one location as opposed to another,” Administrator Verma said.
Procedure Price Lookup, part of the agency’s eMedicare initiative, joins other patient-oriented transparency tools, including an overhauled version of the agency’s drug pricing and spending dashboards, which provide patients with Medicare and Medicaid spending information for thousands more drugs than ever before and, for the first time, list the prescription drug manufacturers that were responsible for price increases.
CMS recently launched the eMedicare initiative to empower beneficiaries with cost and quality information. This announcement included the launch of an enhanced interactive online decision support feature to help people better understand and evaluate their Medicare coverage options. eMedicare also offers a mobile-optimized out-of-pocket cost calculator to provide beneficiaries with information on overall plan costs and prescription drug costs.
For a blog post on the Procedure Price Lookup took by Administrator Verma, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/blog/you-have-right-know-price.
The Procedure Price Lookup tool is available at: https://www.medicare.gov/procedure-price-lookup/.
Below are links to MLMIC’s most recent issues of Dateline and Case Review that can be found at MLMIC.com.
11.1.18 Fact Sheet PFS (CMS-1693-F).pdf
11.1.18 Press Release 2019 PFS-QPP (CMS-1693-F).pdf
EM Payment Chart-Updated-Nov1.pdf
Registration link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/offender-accountability-victim -safety-dv-t raining-opportunity tickets-51517636638
The 2018 performance year for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) ends on December 31, 2018. To access the Quality Payment Program Portal and submit your 2018 performance data, you’ll need your EIDM User ID and Password.
Creating an EIDM Account
CMS established the EIDM system to provide clinicians and practices with a single User ID that can be used to access one or more CMS Applications.
How to Obtain an EIDM Account
If you do not have an EIDM account, navigate to the CMS Enterprise Portal and select ‘New User Registration’ to create one. The following information is required for registration:
Your organization or CMS can help you identify the information needed for your application.
Once you complete your EIDM account registration, you will receive an e-mail acknowledging your successful account creation with your EIDM User ID. Use your unique EIDM User ID and Password to login to the Quality Payment Program Portal.
CMS encourages you to create an EIDM account or verify your EIDM credentials now to prepare for your 2018 MIPS data submission.
For More Information:
AFTER SUCCESSFUL PILOT, INJURED WORKERS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS CAN NOW CHOOSE TO ATTEND HEARINGS REMOTELY, AVOIDING TRAVEL BURDEN
New York State Workers' Compensation Board Chair Clarissa M. Rodriguez today announced the Board has launched a first-in-the-nation initiative that allows injured workers and other participants to attend workers' compensation hearings right from their homes or offices. The Board's virtual hearings provide injured workers a way to move the claim process forward without the need to travel many miles for a hearing that may last only minutes, which is especially beneficial depending on the extent of their injuries.
The New York State Workers' Compensation Board developed virtual hearings in partnership with the Office of Information Technology Services to give all parties involved the option of using a smart phone, tablet or computer to attend hearings. This is the first high definition, all access system for legal hearings in the nation, where multiple users in different locations log in once and then move from one hearing to another.
"This state-of-the-art, secure technology removes obstacles and stress for hard-working New Yorkers who were injured on the job, as well as for business owners and the professionals who participate in the system," Board Chair Rodriquez said. "Virtual hearings allow injured workers to remain in their homes and other participants to attend from their workplaces. Our successful pilot and now statewide launch demonstrate New York's commitment to helping people hurt on the job."
To participate in a virtual hearing, the party of interest needs only a smart phone, tablet or computer with a microphone and video camera, as well as a high-speed internet connection. All participants can see and hear each other on their respective screens. Additionally, workers’ compensation law judges can share claim documents with all involved parties. The system includes security.
The Board is also developing a mobile app, for future release, that parties may download and use to attend hearings.
"Virtual hearings save injured workers the burden of travel, which is particularly helpful for someone with impaired mobility, especially during the harsh winter months," Chair Rodriguez said. "They make it easier for injured workers to receive benefits and for other parties, such as employers and attorneys, to participate in the workers' compensation system."
"The Office of Information Technology Services is pleased to partner with the Workers' Compensation Board to deploy technology that makes it easier to serve injured workers across New York State," said New York State Chief Information Officer Robert H. Samson. "Here in New York, we are harnessing the power of technology to deliver innovation that matters … for all New Yorkers, and virtual hearings are the latest example of this."
Many workers' compensation hearings last less than 10 minutes, but injured workers can still lose time from work and suffer inconvenience traveling to Board offices. Weather-related complications can also make these trips difficult. Virtual hearings are entirely optional though, and parties may now choose them over attending a hearing at a Board office. They can always choose to attend in-person if they prefer.
Virtual hearings were first tested in the Capital District Office in Menands in November 2017, then rolled out across the state. Since the beginning of the pilot, more than 33,000 hearings have included at least one party who appeared remotely, successfully connecting injured workers, law judges and representatives from all over New York and nationally. The Board has trained more than 780 participants on the system, including law judges and other staff, attorneys and legal representatives. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Todd L., an injured worker, said, "Once we got connected, we had great audio and visual and everything ran smoothly right up to the resolution. It was actually very convenient – given that the hearing was in New York and I was in Georgia – versus having to travel back to a central location in Albany." (Privacy laws protect the identities of injured workers.)
Attorney Matt Mead said, "Virtual hearings save me travel time and as a result have saved my clients some fees because I don't have to bill them to get back and forth to the locations. I think it could be really useful to out-of-town witnesses. I deal with some employers who are out of the immediate area and would have to take time away from their businesses to travel. If they could appear virtually, that would be helpful to them."
Virtual hearings are another successful element of the Board’s Business Process Re-engineering, which has been improving the overall health of workers’ compensation in New York since 2013. More information on virtual hearings, including instructional videos and other training materials, is at www.wcb.ny.gov/virtual-hearings.
